1. Technical Field
The following description relates to one or more techniques for a sheet separator.
2. Related Art
A sheet separator has been known that includes a supporting section, two guides, a separation roller, a separation pad, a holder, and a pressing mechanism.
The supporting section is configured to support a plurality of sheets. The two guides are provided at the supporting section. The two guides are disposed to face each other across a distance in a width direction of the sheets supported by the supporting section. The two guides are configured to move along the width direction so as to enlarge or reduce the distance therebetween in the width direction, and to position the sheets supported by the supporting section in the width direction. The separation roller is configured to rotate around a first axis parallel to the width direction, and to feed (convey) the sheets supported by the supporting section in a conveyance direction. The separation pad is configured to separate sheets being fed by the separation roller on a sheet-by-sheet basis in cooperation with the separation roller. The holder is configured to hold the separation pad in a manner capable of being closer to or farther from the separation roller. The pressing mechanism includes a single compressive coil spring, and is configured to apply a pressing load to press the separation pad toward the separation roller.
In the known sheet separator, when the pressing mechanism applies the pressing load to press the separation pad held by the holder toward the separation roller, a braking force generated between the separation roller and the separation pad is applied to the sheets. Consequently, in the known sheet separator, when the separation roller is about to concurrently feed a plurality of sheets, the braking force is applied to sheets, of those sheets, other than a sheet in contact with the separation roller, so as to separate the sheets on a sheet-by-sheet basis.